EasyJet Appoints Barton as Chairman as Airline Mulls Jet Order

EasyJet Plc (EZJ) appointed John Barton
to replace Mike Rake as chairman starting next month as Europe’s
No. 2 discount carrier presses ahead with plans to purchase new
aircraft.

Barton, the chairman of British retailer Next Plc (NXT) and
insurance company Catlin Group Ltd. (CGL), will join the EasyJet board
as a non-executive director and take over from Rake when he
steps down on May 1, the Luton, England-based airline said in a
statement today.

EasyJet joined Britain’s benchmark FTSE 100 Index in March
and has this year started new routes between Moscow and London
and Milan and Rome. Barton, 68, has a “great understanding” of
consumer markets because of his time at the U.K.’s second-
largest clothing retailer Next, according to David Bennett, the
head of the EasyJet board’s nomination committee.

“My aim will be to ensure that the management team of
EasyJet can continue to deliver profitable growth and market
leading returns,” Barton said in the statement.

EasyJet shares climbed 0.5 percent by 8:29 a.m. in London.
They have risen more than 50 percent in the year to date,
valuing the company at 4.6 billion pounds ($7.1 billion).

New Planes

Rake resigned after three years as chairman following
clashes with EasyJet founder and biggest investor Stelios Haji Ioannou. He also sits on the board at BT Group Plc (BT/A) and Barclays
Plc, connections that drove Stelios to demand his resignation
last year. Other shareholders rejected the motion.

Stelios cut his family’s holding in January for the first
time since 2004 and threatened to sell more shares if EasyJet
goes through with a plan to buy new planes. The entrepreneur has
said he wants management to target a 10 percent profit margin
and boost dividend payouts to 50 percent, up from one-third now.

EasyJet has opened the bidding for new planes including the
Boeing 737 Max and Airbus A320neo as part of a fleet expansion
plan from 2017. The airline needs more aircraft as it seeks to
grow its network and compete with larger discount carrier
Ryanair Holdings Plc. (RYA)

EasyJet is targeting a bigger share of Europe’s lucrative
business-travel market through allocated seating, flexible
tickets and the use of corporate agents.